Convergent evidence from human and non-human animal studies suggests aerobic exercise and increased aerobic capacity may be beneficial for brain health and cognition. It is thought growth factors may mediate this putative relationship, particularly by augmenting plasticity mechanisms in the hippocampus, a brain region critical for learning and memory. Among these factors, glucocorticoids, brain...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate effects of stationary cycling to music versus interactive video game cycling on psychosocial functioning in obese adolescents. METHODS 30 obese adolescents aged 12-17 years were randomized to twice weekly laboratory-based sessions of stationary cycling to music or interactive video game cycling for a 10-week trial. Participant's self-reported measures of scholastic comp...

This study examined whether individual differences in aerobic fitness are associated with differences in activation of cognitive control brain networks in preadolescent children. As expected, children performed worse on a measure of cognitive control compared with a group of young adults. However, individual differences in aerobic fitness were associated with cognitive control performance among...

The present investigation is the first to explore the association between childhood aerobic fitness and basal ganglia structure and function. Rodent research has revealed that exercise influences the striatum by increasing dopamine signaling and angiogenesis. In children, higher aerobic fitness levels are associated with greater hippocampal volumes, superior performance on tasks of attentional ...

Because children are becoming overweight, unhealthy, and unfit, understanding the neurocognitive benefits of an active lifestyle in childhood has important public health and educational implications. Animal research has indicated that aerobic exercise is related to increased cell proliferation and survival in the hippocampus as well as enhanced hippocampal-dependent learning and memory. Recent ...

BACKGROUND Recommendations have been proposed for minimum aerobic fitness among firefighters but it is unclear if those criteria relate to performance on the fireground. Less fit individuals fatigue more quickly than fit individuals when working at comparable intensity and may have gait changes, increasing risk of falls. We evaluated the effect of fatigue during a live burn evolution on gait pa...

BACKGROUND The present study examined whether aerobic fitness training of older humans can increase brain volume in regions associated with age-related decline in both brain structure and cognition. METHODS Fifty-nine healthy but sedentary community-dwelling volunteers, aged 60-79 years, participated in the 6-month randomized clinical trial. Half of the older adults served in the aerobic trai...

Reports suggest children with high aerobic fitness (VO2max; mL/kg/min) have healthier profiles of TNF-α and IL-6; however, research has not accounted for differences in adiposity between high-fit and low-fit individuals. Thus, this study examined differences in inflammatory markers of obese and normal weight children of different fitness levels, using two different VO2max units: per unit of fat...

PURPOSE the neurocognitive benefits of an active lifestyle in childhood have public health and educational implications, especially as children in today's technological society are becoming increasingly overweight, unhealthy, and unfit. Human and animal studies show that aerobic exercise affects both prefrontal executive control and hippocampal function. This investigation attempts to bridge th...

purpose: military personnel are expected to maintain the highest possible level of physical   fitness to do their duties. several factors including body composition and body mass index   affect the level of their physical preparedness. the current study was designed to investigate   the effect of body composition and body mass index in the level of physical preparedness of   iranian military pe...